Why You Shouldn't Fear Death

Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What’s closer to nature’s heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood as it was? Eat food without transforming it? Can any vital process take place with something being change?

Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you — and just as vital to nature.

— Marcus Aurelius

Your body, memories and so on are part of your finite being, and everything finite is transient in the face of the infinite that is the Universe, Reality, Mother Nature, the World, or whatever the shit you want to call it.

And for that reason, the idea of change and transformation is an integral part of existence as a finite being.

Finite beings come into existence via transformation of the larger system. A vine grows and transforms over time, and in doing so produces grapes. Those grapes are born, they grow, then they fall and decay — all while the vine continues to transform.

The same thing happens with you — like a fruit of the Earth: You’re born, you grow, then you eventually break back down and return to the Earth from where you came.

People are like waves in the ocean. Individual waves come and go, but the ocean lives on. Forever fluctuating and changing.

That’s all life is: change. It’s all you are: change. You are not a thing, you are a process. And if that’s true, then why cling to things? Why cling to life?

Sure it would be nice to continue playing the game, but if Mother Nature needs to step on your toes in order maintain the global harmony that let us play this little game called “the human race” in the first place, can you really be mad at it?

Let life life the way that it wants to life.

Surrender to it, and enjoy it for what it is. When your time comes to return back into the Earth, embrace it.

Don’t get too attached to your wave, its transience is what makes it beautiful.

All of my writing revolves around the question “what does it take to live the most fulfilling life possible?” or something like that. At the moment it seems to me to be a combination of freedom, creativity, and busting your ass on behalf of the good for society or your community.

So if you like, drop your email in the box below and I’ll send you a weekly newsletter with my best stuff to keep you thinking.

Jackson xo

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P.S. one last thing: All my life I’ve struggled to overcome mental and physical barriers to optimizing my learning and growth in whatever I was doing. Over a period of at least 10 years I pieced together a philosophy that governs optimized practice and long term growth. So if you’re interested in ideas like optimized learning, mastery, discipline and creativity – you should DEFINITELY read this.